Marine spared prison in killing

July 21, 2007|By Tony Perry, Los Angeles Times

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- After an hour of deliberation, a military jury Friday spared Marine Cpl. Trent Thomas from a prison sentence but ordered him given a bad-conduct discharge for his conviction on charges of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder in the death of an Iraqi in Hamdania last year.

Lt. Col. John Baker, the lead prosecutor, had asked that Thomas, 25, be sentenced to a dishonorable discharge and 15 years in prison as a warning to other young Marines to follow the laws of war.

But Maj. Haytham Faraj, one of Thomas' attorneys, had asked that Thomas be given no further jail time beyond the 519 days he has spent in the brig while awaiting trial. He also asked that Thomas not be given a dishonorable discharge because that would make him ineligible for care from the military for his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Both prosecution and defense said Thomas' sentence will send a message to troops serving in Iraq. At his court-martial, some of Thomas' squad members testified they decided to kill an Iraqi out of frustration with an Iraqi legal system that lets suspected insurgents roam free.